Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Valery Polyansky, Russian State Symphony Orchestra :: Rachmaninov: Symphony 2 / Russian Songs

One of the best, if not THE BEST

Camil Moujaber | Owosso, Michigan USA | 05/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have 4 versions of this symphony: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Previn, Concertgebouw Orchestra/Ashkenazy, Russian National Orchestra/Pletnev, and this one by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra (previously the Soviet Philharmonic Orchestra) conducted by Valeri Polyansky. I'll make it short and sweet, this one here is the best I've heard so far, the speed is just right, nothing stretched, nothing compressed, and most importantly, it sounds like a real symphony, not like TV or movie music. Why not the others? Well, Previn is too heavy at places (yawn), Ashkenazy huffs and puffs at the beginning of the second movement, ruining the mood, and Pletnev makes a mess of the whole symphony. You don't have to take my word for it, get the 4 CDs and compare... or just get this one and enjoy great conducting and performing, is all. And with all digital (DDD) recording, this is certain to give you goose bumps on high quality equipment. 6 stars."

Lush interpretation

Ex Lib | Fort Ross, CA | 10/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mr. Polyansky provides a beautiful, lush interpretation of Rachmaninoff's second symphony. The strings are well balanced against the horns, the tempos are appropriate, never rushed for drama or restrained to the point of boredom. And the Russian State Symphonic Cappella choir is, as usual, outstanding."